Field Collection and Laboratory Routine Identification of Rhodiola crenulata

Summary

Here, we describe the identification of Rhodiola Crenulata from habitat, plant morphology, medicinal properties, microscopic features, and thin-layer chromatography.

Abstract

The identification of medicinal materials is the premise and guarantee of drug safety. The majority of scientific researchers are bound to favor the simple, fast, effective, and inexpensive identification process of herbals. Rhodiola crenulata is a traditional Tibetan medicine grown at high altitudes, mainly distributed in Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan regions of China. Rhodiola crenulate possesses multiple bioactivities, such as anti-inflammatory, anti-hypoxia, and antioxidant properties, and has great potential for development. With the increasing market demand and a rapid decrease in resource content, a large number of confused products of Rhodiola crenulata have been troubling people. Therefore, this protocol introduces a standard process for the identification of Rhodiola crenulata in the field combined with routine laboratory testing. The combination of habitat, microscopic features, and thin-layer chromatography will undoubtedly identify Rhodiola crenulata quickly, efficiently, and economically, contributing to the continuous development of Tibetan medicine and the quality control of medicinal materials.

Introduction

Herbal medicine has a long history and rich application experience in China, and it was the first systematic recording in Shennong's herbal classic¹. The discovery of artemisinin applied to malaria promoted the development of herbal medicine into a new stage¹. The use of modern scientific technology to uncover the exact mechanism of herbal medicine increases the utilization rate and demand for herbal medicine, opening a new international market for it^2,3,4. However, this has led to a series of negative effects. Non-professio....

Protocol

Rhodiola crenulata is collected from Zhuoda Snow Mountain, Ganzi County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, China (N 31.44570°, E 99.96086°, 4892 m). The plants are authenticated as genuine by Professor Yi Zhang at the School of Ethnic Medicine, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

1. Collection of Rhodiola crenulata

1. Photograph the habitat map of Rhodiola crenulata.
2. Photograph the who.......

Discussion

There are more than 90 species of Rhodiola plants in the world, and more than 60% of all species are found in China, common ones including Rhodiola crenulata, Rhodiola rosea, Rhodiolas achalinensis, and Rhodiola algida¹⁷. Rhodiola crenulata, recorded in the first part of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia (2020), is a traditional Tibetan medicine grown at high altitudes. The market demand for Rhodiola crenulata is increasing yearly, so ensuring the correct use o.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
0.22 μm millipore filter	Millipore	SLGP033RB
Automatic sampling machine	CAMAG	ATS 4
Chloral hydrate	Fuzhou Brunei Technology Co., Ltd	ST1002
Chromatographic sample bottles	Zhejiang ALWSCI Technology Co., Ltd	C0000008
Conical flask	Sichuan Shubo Co., Ltd	1121
Cover glass	Citotest Labware Manufacturing Co., Ltd	10211818c
Dissecting needle	Shanghai Bingyu Fluid Technology Co., Ltd	BY-5026
Electronic balance	SHIMADZU	ATX124
Ethyl acetate	Chengdu Kelong Chemical Co., Ltd	2022120901
Formic acid	Chengdu Kelong Chemical Co., Ltd	2021110801
Gallic acid	Chengdu Herbpurify Co., Ltd	M-017
Glycerol	Sinopharm Chemical Reagent Co., Ltd	10010618
High speed  crusher	Beijing Zhongxingweiye Instrument Co., Ltd	FW-100
Methanol	Chengdu Kelong Chemical Co., Ltd	20230108
Microscope	Chongqing Oprec Nistrument Co.,  Ltd	B203
Microscope slide	Citotest Labware Manufacturing Co., Ltd	7105P-G
Oven	Shanghai Yuejin Medical Equipment Co., Ltd	DHG-8145
Pharmacopoeia sieve	Hangzhou Xingrun sieve factory	572423281330
Pipette	Changde BKMAM Biotechnology Co., Ltd	120302008
Salidroside	Chengdu Herbpurify Co., Ltd	H-040
Saturate tank	Yancheng Liegu Technology Co., Ltd	10*20 P-1
Silica gel plate	Yantai Jiangyou Silica Gel Development  Co., Ltd	HSG20211227
Trichloromethane	Chengdu Kelong Chemical Co., Ltd	20221013-1
Tweezer	Changde BKMAM Biotechnology Co., Ltd	130302027
Tyrosol	Chengdu Herbpurify Co., Ltd	L-042
Ultrasound equipment	Ningbo Xinyi Ultrasonic Equipment Co., Ltd	SB-8200DTS
Volumetric pipet	Changde BKMAM Biotechnology Co., Ltd	120301006